MALAYSIAN PALMOIL ENDS LIMIT UP AT 13-MONTH HIGH

PALM OIL FUTURES PALM OIL PHYSICALSep (3rd mth) 1076 July (south) 1070Open/High/Low 985/1076/983 Prev close 970Prev settlement 976 * sellers'quotePALM OIL FUTURES - Ended sharply higher across the board on massivespeculative buying. Immediate support seen at 1,050 ringgit and resistanceat 1,100 ringgit.PALM OIL PHYSICALS - Also rallied on covering and talk of tightsupplies.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ran upsharply to the daily limit on Thursday, closing at their highest level inmore than 13 months on speculative buying sparked by overnight rises inChicago and market-friendly June crop data.The benchmark third-month September contract ended up 100 ringgit at1,760 ringgit ($283.16) a tonne, its highest level since May 24, 2000.Friday's limit is set at 150 ringgit. "There was a massive speculativebuying because of CBOT andthe MPOB's data which is surprisingly bullish,"said one traderin Kuala Lumpur."Nobody knows why the market ended limit up, but for sure buyers arevery aggressive," he added. Volume was heavy at 3,738 lots.Some traders said such impressive gains could discourage India fromlowering its import duties on palm oil or delay China's decision torelease import quota for the second half ofthe year, estimated at 700,000tonnes.India may also look for other sources, such as Indonesia for cheaperoil, said traders.The market expects India, which was Malaysia's main buyer in2000,taking 2.03 million tonnes, to enter the market soon tostock up ahead ofthe Diwali festival in November.The official Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said June palm oil outputfell 6.11 percent to 924,855 tonnes from 985,062 tonnes in May.It said end-June stocks were down 13.05 percent to 1.03 million tonnesagainst 1.19 million tonnes at end-May. Stocks were at 1.04 million tonnesat end-June last year.Exports in June stood at 969,779 tonnes compared with 876,867 tonnesin May and 742,729 tonnes in June 2000, MPOB said.Physical July crude palm oil for the southern and central regions wasoffered at 1,070 ringgit a tonne against bids of 1,060. Deals were done at1,050 to 1,060 for both regions.August crude palm oil for the southern region was offered at 1,090ringgit a tonne against bids of 1,080. Deals were reported at 1,075 to1,080. Among refined products, July RBD palm oil was offered at $300 atonne and August at $302.50. There were offers for July RBD olein at$322.50 and August at $325. July RBD palm stearin was offered at $222.50and July palm fatty acid distillate was offered at $180.